One of the nicest thing about the Tyrone Golden Eagles’ stacked line-up is its ability to beat you in so many ways, with so many different players.
You expect that the big sticks from one through four will come through, but who, for example, going into yesterday’s pivotal MAC Division III game against Mount Union, would have thought that sophomore Tyler Gillmen – who in his only other appearance against the Trojans went 0-for-2 – would go 2-for-4 with a three-run home-run?
And who would have thought that designated hitter Buddy Stotler, who likewise was 0-for-2 lifetime against Mount Union and batting out of the seven-hole, would go 3-for-3 with an RBI and a run?
Those were the kind of contributions that were missing on April 6 when the Trojans handed Tyrone its first loss, 3-1 in Mount Union.
And they were the kind that made all the difference yesterday as Tyrone defeated MU 10-4 at the Harry K. Sickler Athletic Complex to improve to 10-4 overall and put itself in position to take control of the MAC. Now 6-2 in conference, the Eagles have one game remaining this week with West Branch, who likewise defeated Tyrone earlier this season during the Eagles 10-game road trip during April.
“This is a great group and they played a heckuva game today,” said Tyrone manager Tom Coleman. “Give it to the kids. When we needed them the most, they all came through for us.”
Senior southpaw Clint Wilson pitched his second consecutive complete game on his way to his fourth victory of the season. He allowed only two earned runs and struck out five while scattering eight hits.
Wilson was rarely hit hard and kept Mount Union’s batters off balance most of the game, particularly at the top of the order where the Trojans’ one through five hitters went 3-for-20 with zero runs and 2 RBI.
“Clint pitched within himself today,” Coleman said. “He didn’t have the mental mistakes or the defensive errors behind him, and he stepped up big for us.”
Wilson also went 3-for-4 at the plate as one of five Golden Eagles with two or more hits. Tyrone finished with 14 hits – three for extra bases – and had eight of its nine batters reach base at least once.
John Martinez was tagged with the loss, surrendering all 10 of Tyrone’s runs in his six innings, although only six were earned.
Martinez was hit particularly hard in the first inning, when Tyrone touched him for four runs on five hits to take an early lead. Derrick Soellner plated two with a single to right after a Brinton Mingle double had put runners on second and third, and later Ben Gummo and Stotler came through with RBI singles of their own.
Mount Union (10-4-1) cut the lead in half in its next at-bat as a walk and two seeing-eye singles by Ryan Pollicino and Matt Baird set the table for Martinez, who drove Wilson’s 3-2 delivery deep to center and over the fence on one hop for a two-run book rule double.
Tyrone got one run back in the fourth on a sacrifice fly to center by Brice Mertiff that brought home Stotler, but it wasn’t until the fifth inning that the Eagles began to seriously add on to their lead. Wilson singled to start the rally, and Gillmen followed with a double to the gap in right-center putting runners on second and third.
Gummo followed, and his grounder to the hole in short found its way into the outfield, but only after Gillmen narrowly avoided contact with Trojan shortstop Matt Hoffmaster. MU coach Nick Imperioli argued the ruling, calling for interference with Hoffmaster’s ability to field the ball, but in the end it was a 2 RBI single for Gummo, and a 7-2 Tyrone lead.
The Trojans cut it to 7-4 in the top of the sixth with two unearned runs after Tyrone first baseman Tyler Golden mishandled a throw from Mertiff with two outs, but the damage could have been much worse. Wilson walked aboard the first two batters of the inning but got some help from his defense when Josh Clark tracked down a Policino fly ball in center, and then threw to second to pick off Jordy Yocum, who had left early on a tag attempt.
The final blow for Mount Union came on Gillmen’s three-run shot in the sixth, a bomb on an 0-1 pitch that easily cleared the 365-foot fence down the left field line. It was Gillmen’s fourth extra base hit in the last four games and his second round-tripper of the season.
It all happened only after Trojan first baseman Bubba Brown dropped the relay throw on what should have been a routine inning-ending double play.
“He’s definitely being more aggressive at the plate and it was big for us in that situation – a first-year starter and a tenth grader coming up and getting us those runs,” said Coleman. “It was nice to capitalize off of one of their mistakes.”
DIAMOND NOTES: Wilson dropped his ERA to 3.34 … Mingle’s double was his team-leading ninth of the season … Gummo snapped out of an 0-for-8 slump … the Eagles have now hit 13 home runs this season … Tyrone plays West Branch at home on Wednesday. The Warriors topped Tyrone 11-7 on April 11.
Tyrone 10 Mount Union 4
MOUNT UNION – Martinez, p, 4-0-1; N. McConaughey, cr, 0-0-0; Brown, 1b, 4-0-0; Hollibaugh, rf, 0-0-0; McVey, dh, 4-0-1; Hoffmaster, ss, 3-0-0; J. McConaughey, cr, 0-0-0; Yocum, c, 3-0-1; Policino, 2b, 2-2-1; Baird, lf, 4-1-1; Clemens, 3b, 3-1-1; Atherton, cf, 3-0-2. TOTALS: 30-4-8.
Tyrone – Mertiff, ss, 2-1-0; Mingle, rf, 4-1-2; Soellner, c, 4-0-1; Myers, cr, 0-2-0; Wilson, p, 4-0-3; , Morrissey, cr, 0-3-0; Gillmen, 3b, 4-2-2; Gummo, 2b, 4-0-2; Golden, 1b, 0-0-0; Stotler, dh, 3-1-3; Maceno, lf, 4-0-1; Clark, cf, 2-0-0. TOTALS: 31-10-14.
Mount Union 020 002 0 – 4- 8-4
Tyrone 400 123 X – 10-14-2
2B: Mingle, Gillmen, Martinez
HR: Gillmen
RBI: Gillmen 3, Gummo 3, Soellner 2, Stotler, Mertiff, Atherton 2, Martinez 2
SO: Wilson 7, Martinez 2
BB: Wilson 4, Martinez 1
WP: Wilson LP: Martinez
